1. Some Republican leaders and donors see an electoral disaster if Ted Cruz, above, and Donald Trump continue to dominate. So they are pressuring less successful candidates, like Jeb Bush, to clear the way for a concerted push by their preferred nominees, like Marco Rubio. “There’s a mounting sense of urgency among donors that the weak performers need to go ahead and get out,” the president of a “super PAC” said. Trump said he planned to skip a debate hosted by Fox News on Thursday. He’s been fighting with the network.

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CreditMax Whittaker for The New York Times

2. On the Democratic side,Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are in a pitched neighborhood-by-neighborhood battle in Iowa, with the caucuses looming six days away. “These guys are two of the best in Iowa Democratic politics,” a party organizer said. “Each knows how to win. Each could win. It’s so unpredictable, but what I do know is they’re sure trying hard.”

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CreditABC, via Photofest

3. This time, the reports were true. Abe Vigoda, the dour detective Phil Fish from the long-ago “Barney Miller” cop show, died in his sleep. He was 94. His death has been erroneously reported over the last 34 years, making him a cult figure on “Dead/Not Dead” celebrity lists.

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CreditJoseph Kaczmarek/Associated Press

4. One of our best-read stories today reconstructs the crash of an Amtrak passenger train in Philadelphia last May, the worst American rail disaster in decades. Federal investigators appear to be leaning toward the theory that the conductor who sped into a dangerous curve had lost his bearings — either from fatigue or because he knocked himself out by reflexively ducking when someone threw a rock at his cab.

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CreditNathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

5. New York’s mayor,Bill de Blasio, asked the State Legislature to include funds in its budget for the city’s public housing, infrastructure and health care. But the lawmakers pointed to his budget surplus and countered with demands that some of it go toward Medicaid and the City University system. “The bottom line is that the city is awash in money right now,” one told him.

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6. A rapper has been waging a Twitter battle with the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson over whether the world is flat. The musician known as B.o.B. posted photos of flat horizons and called out “the greatest liars in history.” Mr. Tyson stood by centuries of scientific consensus, gently telling B.o.B., “Duude — to be clear: Being five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn’t mean we all can’t still like your music.”

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CreditJames Nieves/The New York Times

7. Check your U.S. passport. If it expires in 2016, the State Department is urging you to renew it now to avoid getting stuck in an anticipated backlog that could upset your international travel plans. Renewals could take about six weeks this year, not the usual four.

But U.S. markets rose along with the price of crude oil, which surged almost 4 percent. The Dow rose 1.8 percent, its best day since early December; the S.&P. 500 climbed 1.4 percent; and the Nasdaq was up 1.1 percent.

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CreditBrian C. Frank for The New York Times

9. Women should be screened for depression while pregnant and after giving birth, a government-appointed health panel said. Postpartum depression, which afflicts an estimated one in seven mothers — including the Iowa woman above, who has recovered — can begin before the birth and may have serious detrimental effects on mother and child.

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CreditOffice of the Ohio Attorney General, via Associated Press

10. Cleveland fired six police officers for their roles in a 2012 car chase that left two unarmed black people dead. More than 100 officers joined in the chase, and one climbed on the hood of the car and repeatedly fired into the windshield. “I think we’ve learned that there are certain things that we can and can’t do in our service to this city,” the police chief said.

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CreditPool photo by Andrew Medichini

11. Pope Francis met with Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, who is on a four-day visit to Italy and France to restart trade now that crippling international sanctions have been lifted. Francis thanked him for visiting the Vatican and said, “I hope for peace.” Mr. Rouhani asked the pope to pray for him.